America’s sweetheart Bubba Watson was leading the Travelers Championship by two shots heading into the last three holes. He relinquished the top spot with a triple-bogey on the 16th hole and ended the tournament in fourth place. Check out the caddie abuse that went down on the par-3 16th:

The best piece of caddie scolding was at the end of the video:

“See, there’s just no reason for me to show up.”

Following the comment Bubba picked up his club bag and walked off like he was going to finish the round by himself. He didn’t go through with it, but it was a strong power-move by Bubba.

After the tournament Watson’s caddie Ted Scott, like in any abusive relationship, took full responsibility:

“I convinced him to hit the wrong club, I 100 percent take responsibility for it. It’s totally my fault. I got in the way of the painter on that one.”

It sounds like Bubba has his caddie brainwashed. The dynamic is: Bubba hits every shot perfect based on the caddie’s information, so when things go wrong it’s all the caddie’s fault. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bubba keeps Scott locked up in his basement between tournaments, just to reinforce his authority over the club carrier.

Bubba’s long-time nemesis Steve Elkington, who’s feud with Watson dates back to 2009, had this to say about the incident:

Bubba rips caddie…. Shit that was nothing…. How tough can u be anyway with your shirt buttoned to the top….

The abuse of caddies in golf has to stop. There needs to be shelters set-up where caddies can rehab after working with golfers like Bubba. Then the rehabilitated caddies can slowly start working again and rebuild their lives one hole at a time.